Deep in the night, inside the Mystic Valley Pavilion, candlelight flickered, and hot tea was brewing. Zhen Qin sat dazedly on a small stool, staring at the teapot and lost in thought.
Gu An was writing a book. After he finished a page, he started to appreciate it, feeling increasingly pleased with his work.
“Disciple, come and have a look.”
Gu An’s voice interrupted Zhen Qin’s thoughts.
Zhen Qin quickly stood up, walked to his side, took the page from his hand, and read it attentively.
“The Seven Great Saints… Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven, Bull Demon King?”
Zhen Qin couldn’t help but look at Gu An and asked, “Master, isn’t your Bull downstairs the Bull Demon King? Did you write him into the book?”
Gu An chuckled and asked, “Is that not allowed?”
“Of course it is, but your writing style…” Zhen Qin nodded, her expression a bit hesitant.
Does Master have such talent?
Upon thinking about it, she realized that since Master didn’t cultivate, he must have time for music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
After finishing reading, she handed the page back to Gu An and said, “It’s very well written. Just this part alone feels no worse than the Investiture of the Gods. Master, are you planning to publish a book? I hope you can surpass Pan An…”
Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly widened her eyes in astonishment and looked at Gu An.
“Pan An… Gu An…”
Zhen Qin’s expression turned peculiar, and she quickly asked, “Master, could you actually be Pan An?”
Gu An smiled and said, “This is my biggest secret. I’m only telling you. Can you tell Master what’s troubling you?”
Gu An could feel that Zhen Qin came today wanting to share her troubles but was afraid of something, so he revealed his identity as Pan An to draw her out.
Although he already knew the truth, he couldn’t expose his identity, and what Zhen Qin needed was to confide in someone close by.
Zhen Qin gritted her teeth and said, “I’m afraid of dragging Master into this!”
“If you don’t say anything and something happens, you’ll not only drag me into it, but it will also become my burden. That would harm me more.” Gu An shook his head.
Zhen Qin felt relieved and smiled for the first time.
At Gu An’s gesture, she moved to the other side of the desk and began to talk about Su Han’s death.
Gu An got up to pour tea, and Zhen Qin’s gaze followed his back, trying to see his reaction.
However, she couldn’t see through anything.
Had Master already let go of Senior Brother Su?
Zhen Qin thought to herself. She couldn’t blame Gu An. She owed Su Han for covering for her, but her Master owed him nothing.
Gu An brought a bowl of hot tea in front of her, looking at her calmly as she spoke.
When she finished, Gu An said, “The deceased have passed. You should live according to his wishes, not inherit his hatred.”
“But…”
“Think about what he said to you before he died. What do you think he hoped for you to do?”
Gu An interrupted her and asked solemnly.
Zhen Qin remained silent.
Gu An continued, “Let alone whether you can defeat the Ghost Mother of Ephemera, the world is so vast. Are you going to spend your whole life searching for her? Cultivate well and experience the world your Senior Brother wanted to see. Do the things he couldn’t achieve. That is truly good for him. There is a divine intent in the unseen world. Your Senior Brother ultimately attracted a body of sins, but inheriting his power means you share his fate, whether for good or ill. It’s all up to your intentions.”
Zhen Qin was filled with countless thoughts, her expression complex.
Gu An was not rushed; he merely provided guidance. To let go, she needed to rely on herself.
Zhen Qin looked up at Gu An. Now, in her eyes, he seemed very weak. Since inheriting Su Han’s cultivation, Zhen Qin had already formed her Nascent Soul, and her cultivation level was still growing. It was inevitable she saw others from a superior viewpoint, but tonight, she felt deeply ashamed.
What use was mere cultivation level?
She took a deep breath and asked, “Master, if I perform good deeds, will it really help Senior Brother Su?”
Gu An answered, “I am not sure, but at least this way, you can free yourself and fulfill his wishes.”
Zhen Qin chuckled, instantly returning to her usual lively and mischievous demeanor.
“Master, you are Pan An! You hid it well. Earlier, I even thought you were the author of the Supreme Secret Records!”
“Ahem, nonsense. How could Master be such a person?”
Wait!
Does she also read the Supreme Secret Records?
Gu An’s expression turned peculiar. Shen Zhen truly was a scourge, corrupting so many people!
Zhen Qin snorted, “Who told Master to love reading Green Hero Travelogue?”
“They are all rumors! Don’t believe them!”
The master and disciple duo began to argue.
A long while passed.
Gu An spoke, “Defying Fate Divine Skill, Master knows. Someone wants to pass it on to me. I can put in a good word for you, allowing you to become a True Disciple and embark on a proper immortal cultivation path.”
Zhen Qin was once again shocked, not expecting her Master to have such an opportunity!
“Master, who is it? Are they powerful?” Zhen Qin asked curiously.
“Sect Leader Lv Baitian, do you think he’s powerful?”
“Hiss… Does that mean, Master, you will become a Great Cultivator of the Unification Realm in the future?”
“I did not agree, and his lifespan is long. Perhaps he will live longer than your Master. This matter cannot be spread, to avoid trouble.”
“I understand, Master. To be honest, I am now a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator. These years, hiding my cultivation level has been really uncomfortable…”
Zhen Qin began to complain.
Gu An laughed and said, “Master understands you.”
“How do you understand?”
“Fine, I do not understand. Can Master hit you for daring to show off to Master?”
The master and disciple again started to bicker.
It was almost dawn when Zhen Qin finally went downstairs.
Passing by the Blood Prison Great Saint, she squatted in front of him, stroked his bovine head, and whispered with a laugh, “Little Bull, I can now become a Nascent Soul Realm Cultivator. Impressive, right?”
The Blood Prison Great Saint opened his eyes and glanced at her.
Crazy!
He finally understood that this Upper Realm was full of crazy people.
After muttering a few more words, Zhen Qin leaped up and flew toward the Outer Gate City.
It was not until noon that Gu An used his Disciple Token to contact Lv Baitian to help change Zhen Qin’s disciple status.
Lv Baitian was very interested in the transmission of the Defying Fate Divine Skill to Zhen Qin and agreed right away.
…
Another nightfall arrived.
That night, Gu An left Mystic Valley, stepping on the Limitless Freedom Step and heading west, crossing mountains and lands, and entering the ocean.
Step by step!
The distance that a ninth-layer Wandering Immortal could traverse was immense!
This time, he took a full hundred steps and landed on a small continent.
Standing on the beach, his Divine Sense enveloped the continent. He saw many demon creatures, but no cultivators of the human race.
This continent should not be sunk by giant sea demons!
Gu An walked into the forest. He didn’t immediately find a place to break through but instead took a look around the continent.
Meanwhile.
In the Demon Land.
In the dim tunnel, Xuan Tianyi and An Hao were walking. An Hao was very nervous and kept looking behind him.
“Cultivators observe with Divine Sense, not with eyes. Didn’t Lv Baitian teach you that?”
Walking ahead, Xuan Tianyi asked casually.
An Hao looked at his back, feeling a bit reassured.
This was the only Mahayana Realm Cultivator in the Supreme Sect on the surface. In the Three Dynasty Regions, he was second only to his Master among the cultivators of the human race.
Following Xuan Tianyi, even in dangerous situations, they should be able to escape with their lives.
An Hao asked, “I always feel this journey is too quiet without any demon obstruction as if they intentionally let us in.”
“Perhaps.”
Xuan Tianyi responded casually.
Not long after, the two walked out of the tunnel and arrived at a cliff. Looking out, they saw a vast underground space, with rolling magma below, like a blazing lake.
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Xuan Tianyi looked down at the magma lake, the firelight casting shadows on his face.
An Hao also looked down, but his expression was tense.
“Such dense demonic qi, is the Evil Demon hiding below?” An Hao asked in a low voice.
Xuan Tianyi said, “You’ve been following for so long. Why don’t you come out?”
As soon as he said this, An Hao was shocked and quickly looked around.
Immediately, he saw mysterious figures shrouded in demonic qi emerging from the distant cave walls, seven in total.
Xuan Tianyi said softly, “I didn’t tell you earlier because I was afraid you’d be in danger separated from me. Just watch how I handle these sneaky ones.”
With that, he stepped forward, walking in mid-air.
An Hao remained vigilant, drawing out his treasure sword and keeping an eye on his surroundings.
…
Under the tree, Gu An sat in meditation, leaning against the trunk. He had activated the Life Span Barrier and looked up through the leaves at the crescent moon in the night sky.
Tonight’s weather was excellent!
It was as if heaven and earth were celebrating for him!
Gu An’s lips curled up as he opened the Attribute Panel.
[Name: Gu An]
[Life Span: 96/10376008]
[Physique: Mystic Holy Body]
[Cultivation Level: Wandering Immortal Realm, Ninth Layer]
…
Ten million three hundred seventy-six thousand years of life span!
Because of the failure to breakthrough to the Heaven and Earth Flying Immortal Realm from the ninth layer of the Wandering Immortal Realm, he needed to wait twenty thousand years, so Gu An chose to invest a million years first.
Fifty attempts, gambling on a stroke of luck, what if he got lucky?
The simulation began!
[You cultivated energy absorption for twenty thousand years. Using the great accomplishment of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Skill, you forcibly attempted to break through to the Heaven and Earth Flying Immortal Realm. You faced the Heaven and Earth Divine Intent Heavenly Tribulation but did not survive and failed the tribulation crossing]
Failure!
Failure!
Gu An remained calm, first playing with two hundred thousand years, succeeding would be nice, but failure was acceptable.
As expected, all attempts failed.
He then invested another one hundred thousand years!
One after another, lines of equally long prompts kept appearing.
All failures again, one hundred failed tribulation crossings!
Another fifty attempts, surely he’d succeed now?
More practically identical prompts popped up, and now Gu An could no longer keep a straight face.
Three million years of life span and still no breakthrough!
He couldn’t help but look again at the words Heaven and Earth Divine Intent Heavenly Tribulation.
He truly wanted to see what this heavenly tribulation looked like!
He hoped someone could show him in reality how to overcome the Heaven and Earth Divine Intent Heavenly Tribulation someday!
Gu An took a deep breath and chose to invest fifty thousand years of life span.
Failure!
Failure!
Consecutive failures struck at Gu An’s Daoist heart.
Until a prompt suddenly grew longer.
[You cultivated energy absorption for thirty-eight thousand years. Using the great accomplishment of the Heaven and Earth Primordial Skill, you forcibly attempted to break through to the Heaven and Earth Flying Immortal Realm. You faced the Heaven and Earth Divine Intent Heavenly Tribulation and survived, succeeding in the tribulation crossing. Your cultivation level has broken through to the first layer of the Heaven and Earth Flying Immortal Realm]